Newmarket man gets jail for seeking abuse images

BRENTWOOD — A Newmarket man was sentenced to a year in county jail on charges that he attempted to download child pornography to his computer.

Jesse Daniel McManus, 24, pleaded guilty to three counts that he attempted to download photos of children engaged in sexual acts on Dec. 5, 2007, prosecutors said.

.McManus had faced 9 other counts of attempted computer pornography prohibited, but prosecutors agreed to drop the other charges as part of a plea agreement struck in Rockingham County Superior Court.

Indictments say that McManus had sought out images of young children engaged in sexual acts...He could face faced up to 3 ½ to 7 years in state prison on each of the charges had he been convicted by a jury.

McManus was scheduled to go on trial the week of Feb. 3 in Rockingham County Superior Court...The plea deal was struck after Judge Marguerite Wageling rejected a bid by McManus to bar the testimony of an Exeter detective who interviewed him on Nov. 5, 2007.

A recording of the interview was apparently lost by police, according to public defenders...“No explanation was given as to how the recording was lost,” Public Defender Debra DuPont said in a court motion.

Dupont argued that without the recording, a jury would be led to believe that McManus made a “blanket confession” to the detective...Wageling denied the defense’s request to consider throwing out the evidence, saying it was filed past a court-mandated deadline.

As part of his sentence, McManus will also be required to undergo sex offender treatment and any other counseling recommended by corrections officials. He received two other suspended prison sentences of 3 ½ to 7 years that can be imposed within the next 10 years...He will also be required to register as a sex offender upon release from county jail.